Abstract
Auditory system is known for its exquisite sensitivity, displaying sub-nanometer detection thresholds. Mechanical deflections evoked by external sound and ground vibrations are converted by the inner ear hair cells into electrical signals. In some species, hair cell bundles exhibit spontaneous oscillations under in vitro conditions. In Bullfrog sacculus, the oscillation profile is consistent with relaxation-type oscillation, in which a rapid motion of a bundle is followed by a slow drift along the same direction. A large number of hair bundles also show more complex temporal profiles, with quiescent intervals interspersed with bursts of oscillation. We study the dynamics of phase-locking of individual hair bundles to low-amplitude mechanical stimulations, where the amplitude of the oscillations remains unaffected by the stimulus. Under low-frequency stimulation, the signal entrains the bundle motility via higher-order mode-locking. The applied signal modulated both the quiescent intervals and the oscillatory bursts, across a broad range of frequencies. We compare these experimental findings with results from numerical simulations.
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